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Starfleet insignia
The Starfleet insignia was an asymmetrical, arrowhead-shaped pennant adopted by Starfleet as its identifying emblems. It was displayed on starship hulls, installations, uniforms worn by Starfleet personnel, and equipment used by that personnel. History The United Earth Starfleet of the 22nd century used a simple forward-facing "pointer" shaped pennant, with a round backdrop, that was reminiscent of symbols used by NASA in the 20th and 21st centuries. The original design for the of that era did not include this symbol, unless it was a crewperson assigned to Starfleet Command, who wore the insignia as their assignment patch on the left shoulder. In a later uniform revision of the 2160s, personnel wore the Starfleet patch on their right shoulder as well as the left shoulder assignment patch. ( ; ) Shortly after the founding of the United Federation of Planets in 2161, a solid silver delta was worn on the left breast of the uniform, with individual assignment patches worn on both shoulders. ( ) In the mid 23rd century, a simplified pennant version of the delta was used on Federation starships and installations. This symbol for Starfleet was not worn on uniforms, which again only displayed an individual crewperson's assignment patch. Some starships, such as the Defiant, had an assignment patch similar to this symbol. ( ; ) The delta insignia came into usage for much of Starfleet's exploration division in the early to mid 23rd century. A starburst insignia was used by flag officers and administrative support staff of fleet headquarters and starbases. Some starships during the mid-23rd century used a variety of insignia unique to each ship. The Enterprise maintained the delta as her insignia and assignment patch. ( ; ; ; ) By the early 2270s, while installations and starships, such as Epsilon IX station, maintained their individual assignment patches, Starfleet Command had adopted a new Starfleet insignia, a symbol previously used as the assignment patch of the , and prior to that, the and . ( ; ; ) Specifically, the command division insignia, with the MACO five-pointed star contained in the arrowhead, was most often used, although a version omitting the internal star gained prominence as well. This arrowhead shape, with similar asymmetry as the previous incarnation, had roots in history as being used in a basic form on the United States armed forces space command ratings badge and unit insignia, and on UESPA exploration vessels, such as the Friendship 1, in the 21st century. This symbol was now pointed up when worn on the chest or shoulder of uniforms, as well as displayed in signage. The arrowhead was faced forward when used as hull decoration. This symbol eventually phased out all assignment patches by the late 2270s, and remained in use for some Starfleet divisions well into the 24th century. The metal badge version of this symbol became Starfleet's first combadge as well. ( ; ; ) In the 2340s, a more stylized version of the symbol, the familiar arrowhead without any internal symbology within the shape, and mounted on an oval field, was incorporated into uniforms. A metal badge of this emblem, again serving as a combadge, was worn on the uniform chest. This symbol also became common in starship hull pennants. ( ) By the 2370s, a newer version was created for use as a combadge, with a stylized trapezoidal background. Starship hull pennants of this era began using a simplified version of the arrowhead alone, without a background. ( ; ; ; ) Two decades later, a version similar to the one used in several alternate timelines was used, with a hollow, outlined version of the arrowhead with two irregular stylized vertical trapezoids descending from behind. ( ) File:2160s Starfleet insignia.svg|2160s File:2230s Starfleet insignia.svg|2230s insignia File:Starfleet DIS CAPT.png|Late-2240s-2250s (Command division, ) File:Early 2270s Starfleet.svg|Early 2270s insignia (Command division) File:2270s - 2340s Starfleet.svg|Late 2270s-2340s insignia File:TNG badge.svg|2340s-2360s insignia File:2370s Starfleet.svg|2370s-2380s insignia File:2390s Starfleet insignia.svg|2390s insignia Alternate reality In the alternate reality created by Nero's incursion, Starfleet had done away with the assignment patches by the 2250s. Instead the fleet was united behind a gold arrowhead, slightly modified from the assignment patch of the USS Kelvin, with a shallow arrowhead indentation on the inside (as seen on dress uniforms). The insignia used on starships was a silver arrowhead with a hollow division symbol inside the arrowhead, similar to the assignment patches used aboard the prime timeline's USS Enterprise. ( ) File:AT 2250s Starfleet.png|Dress uniform insignia File:AT 2250s Fleet.png|Fleet version (Command division) File:Starfleet patch.png|Uniform patch Mirror universe In the mirror universe, a dagger impaling the Earth was the symbol of the Terran Empire and as such was used as the insignia of the . ( ; ; ) File:Terran Empire insignia, 2150s.png|Imperial insignia (2150s) File:Terran Empire insignia, 2250s.png|Imperial insignia (2250s) File:Terran Empire insignia, 2260s.png|Imperial insignia (2260s) Parallel and future versions In the Barash-created false-future illusion experienced by William T. Riker in 2367, the symbol used in the Starfleet combadge consisted of the arrowhead, either silver or gold, with four horizontal bars behind indicating the rank of the individual by the number of bars that were gold or silver. ( ) This version was also in use in an alternate quantum reality visited by Worf in 2370. ( ) In several alternate timelines observed by Starfleet personnel, new variations of this symbol existed. In the 2390s and 25th century, Starfleet personnel were known to wear a hollow, outlined version of the arrowhead with two irregular stylized vertical trapezoids behind it as their badge. ( ; ; ) Further in the future, 29th century Starfleet had a rotated version of the arrowhead shape, with the bottom half filled in with a mirror of the top point of the shape. In 29th century timeship hull decorations, the arrowhead was shown pointing backwards from the direction of motion for the first time, possibly because of the vessels' capability for time travel. ( ) A.I. Starfleet CAPT.png|Holographic 2383 / Alternate 2370 insignia (captain) File:A.I. Starfleet ADM.png|Holographic flag officer insignia File:2390s Starfleet.svg|Alternate 2390s insignia File:29th century Starfleet.png|29th century insignia Appendix Background information A memo from Bob Justman dated 18 December 1967 discusses the Starfleet arrowhead emblem and individual crew patches. It states "all Starship personnel wear the Starship emblem that we have established for our ''Enterprise Crew Members to wear," meaning that the arrowhead was always meant to be the emblem for all of Starfleet. Further, the crew of the ''Antares was the "equivalent of the Merchant Marines or freighter personnel" and other emblems should be counted as production mistakes. A great deal of fan fiction and other non-canon sources, such as the Star Trek: The Next Generation Technical Manual (p. 3), suggest that the Starfleet-wide adoption of the Enterprise emblem was probably to honor the ship and her crew for their successful and historic five-year mission. This has not been referenced on screen, however. Considering that one of Star Trek s long-held influences is the Age of Sail, it may be a reference to the British Royal Navy's adoption of – the particular coloration of the ships of Admiral Horatio Nelson – on all of its ships after the Battle of Trafalgar. In a form of fact emulating fiction (and vice-versa), the US badges have a delta arrowhead very similar to the 1960s-designed Enterprise insignia, while the United Earth Starfleet insignia seems to be a deliberate synthesis between the TOS era pennant and the NASA logo. From the , "The distinctive arrowhead symbol used on Starfleet uniforms was first created by Original Series costume designer William Ware Theiss for the in . Three versions of the original symbol were created, used for command personnel, science specialists, and engineering staff. (A fourth version, featuring a red cross, was occasionally worn by Christine Chapel.) During the original ''Star Trek series, it was generally assumed that the arrowhead symbol was unique to , and that other starships had different insignia for their uniforms. This changed in , when a modified emblem, designed by Robert Fletcher, was used not only on Enterprise crew members, but on all Starfleet personnel. We therefore assume that at some point after the original Star Trek series, the Enterprise emblem was adopted for the entire Starfleet. The feature film insignia (in a couple of variations) was used for the movies set in the Kirk era, as well for flashback sequences involving Picard's cadet days. Yet another variation was created for Star Trek: The Next Generation s first season by Theiss, in conjunction with Rick Sternbach and Mike Okuda. This version was also used on . Most recently. Starfleet officers wear a version designed by John Eaves and Bob Blackman, first seen in . Additionally, two hypothetical future versions have been seen. One, designed by Okuda, was seen in and , while another, designed by Eaves, was used in and . Still more variants were added for the Kelvin timeline for and .''" Another version, which appeared only in "The Cage", had a unique symbol of a box, open on the wearer's left, with a "C" shape inside. Only two crewmembers were seen wearing this unique insignia; both were on the bridge with one standing like a guard at the turbolift doors, and the other standing at times next to Captain Pike's chair. This unique insignia's department/division was never mentioned on screen; it was dropped in the second pilot, , and never appeared again. Several patches were sold off on the It's A Wrap! sale and auction on eBay. Following the announcement of the logo of the , a division of the Department of the Air Force, a number of sources noted its similarity to the Starfleet insignia, though others pointed out that the design appeared to based on the logo of the , which was phased out in place of the new Space Force. cs:Insignie Hvězdné flotily de:Sternenflottenabzeichen Category:Clothing accessories Category:Symbols